Wuhan defends huge pool party after viral video prompts worldwide outrage

Chinese authorities insist massive pool party shows how effectively the country has dealt with the pandemic.

Thousands of people are pictured at a pool party in Wuhan, ignoring social distancing rules, as Chinese media defend attacks on the event as ‘sour grapes’. Picture: AFP

A massive swimming pool party held in the city from which the coronavirus originated showed how effectively China has dealt with the pandemic, the authorities insisted, as images from the event prompted anger around the world.

Thousands of people were pictured in Wuhan ignoring social distancing rules and packed into a large swimming pool while being entertained by a rapper. China’s state media then ran stories quoting residents describing the sacrifices the city had made to suppress the disease.

A rapper entertains the crowd at the massive pool party. One resident told Chinese state media that the party was “payback” for the country’s efforts to suppress the virus. Picture: AFP

The virus is thought to have begun its worldwide spread at a wet market in Wuhan. There have also been uncorroborated suggestions that it escaped from a virus laboratory in the city.

The Global Times, a Communist Party-run newspaper, said the event showed that Wuhan, which gained global notoriety after reporting the first coronavirus cases, was back to normal after a draconian lockdown helped to cut transmission of the virus. It called the outcry from overseas “sour grapes”.

With several other countries enforcing or strengthening social distancing rules, making face masks compulsory and banning large gatherings to try to control a resurgence of the virus, pictures of the party in Wuhan, once hit hardest by the virus, shocked many.

Not a mask in sight, as partygoers are packed in like sardines. Picture: AFP

The footage, which showed a rapper performing to a large crowd packed into a pool in their swimwear, was widely condemned on social media, where the video has been watched 16 million times. “Life’s a beach in Wuhan as world pays virus price” was the headline on the front page of Australia’s Daily Telegraph.

VIDEO: 🇨🇳 A pool party attended by thousands in the central Chinese city of #Wuhan -- the initial epicentre of the #coronavirus pandemic -- shows how well China has dealt with disease, authorities say, despite images from the event prompting outrage around the world pic.twitter.com/5TH7CGVmIH

— AFP news agency (@AFP) August 20, 2020

One resident told Chinese state media that the party was “payback” for the efforts the city’s people had made to suppress the virus. “For some countries, which are still struggling to fight COVID-19, without strict measures the virus won’t be fended off. We fought hard, this is our payback,” Zhang Yong, owner of a taxi company, said.

He said it was amusing that “foreigners were making a fuss about our pool party”.

The images were in stark contrast to the days when the city was a ghost town, after the authorities isolated its nine million residents and halted public transport. Wuhan has not reported any new infections since mid-May. A citywide testing program in June uncovered about 300 asymptomatic carriers.

The images were in stark contrast to the days when Wuhan was a ghost town, after the authorities isolated its nine million residents at the beginning of the year. Picture: Getty

Since then residents had begun to relax, Mr Zhang told the Global Times. Happy Valley, the water park that hosted the party, now attracts 20,000 visitors a day, according to Tang Haifeng, its deputy general manager. He told China Daily that it had decided to host the music festival because it was safe to do so.

The wider province has waived admission charges for its premium attractions to try to boost local tourism.

“We are surprised that people are so interested in Wuhan having a music festival,” Mr Tang said. “Wuhan is a very safe place, thanks to the concerted efforts of its people and medical workers from across the country.”

The Times